Bowling
by Aleck Saunder
Summary: One night, the gang goes bowling. Based on before the movie. Just them fooling around, having a good time.


It was the weekend and time for the gang to go out and fool around. The 'gang' consisted of four men. Matty Demaret, the 'leader' of the group, the one all the others looked up to. Taylor Reese, Matty's best friend, the 'tough guy'. Chris Scarpa, the sex hound, and Johnny Marbles, Scarpa's first cousin, a coke-addict. All were sons of mobsters. Matty in particular was the son of an underboss; one of the most highly-ranked men in the mafia. Growing up was tough for all of them, and still their lives were run by their fathers even as they were adults, whether it was their intent to do so or not. Getting a decent job was nearly impossible and they got most of their money from helping their fathers run the errands they didn't want to run. They were really only considered errand boys to their fathers but the rest of the world looked at them like they were cold-stone killers. Which whoever got to know either of them knew they weren't.

They all got along relatively well but Matty and Taylor had a stronger connection than any of the others had to each other. They'd always been there for each other; through thick and thin, for better or worse. Still, they all cared about each other, lived similar lives and had the experience of being sons of mobsters.

That particular weekend, they all ended up going bowling; all wearing royal blue shirts and bowling shoes. Dressed and ready, Matty and Taylor ordered beer and pizza while Chris and Marbles went to find a couple free lanes and booths. Once situated, they made teams, splitting the group into two. Chris was with Marbles and Matty was with Taylor as usual.

"How come you guys are always on the same team? It's not fair, you're better than us," said Johnny Marbles, brows creased, giving him a sad, pitiful look. Marbles had bright blue eyes. He had a long face and his black hair was messy as if he'd never brushed it. He wore clothes that were too big for him, giving him an innocent, child-like appearance. What with being addicted to cocaine, he often acted like a spaz, but once in a while he'd calm down, talk about his favorite movies or video games.

"What do you mean_ 'us'?_ _I_ ain't half bad, _you're_ the one that can't play," Chris Scarpa replied to his cousin, causing Matty to laugh. Scarpa had bright blue eyes like Marbles and also black hair but which he had gelled to a point. He had bright white teeth, a long face, long lashes. Most of the words that left his mouth had to do with women; he couldn't get enough of them.

"Hey, well _somebody's_ gotta play with Marbles," Matty replied, amused with their expressions. Matty had gray eyes, black hair that was partly slicked back and partly spiked. He had an Italian look to him, as both his parents were Italian, even his mother who had passed away years ago when he was young. He had a thin nose. Full but short brows, heavy lids, full pink lips. He had the body of an athlete, more lean though than muscular, and wore expensive black slacks. He was confident and charming, caring and empathetic. He loved a good joke, and would tease his friends, but all in good fun.

"Eh, forget it, Scarpa. We can do this. I've been practicing, I think I got a shot at it, this time," Marbles said.

"Yeah, right. You got as much of a shot at this as a donkey does, and that's a compliment," Chris replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

At that, Matty turned toward Taylor and laughed. Taylor smiled in return; he had dark brown eyes and had shaved his head so only a thin layer of hair was left. Had stubble on his chin. He also had an Italian look to him, a hint of African-American as well. He was muscular and tall, had thick and full brows. He wore comfortable clothes, usually a T-shirt and jeans. Most of the time, he was quiet and serious. He didn't talk much but when he did, he was usually alone with Matty.

"Alright, you guys first, show us what you got," Matty said, watching as Marbles stood up to the lane. Marbles took a ball, took a breath, stared at the lane and the pins. He did a few mock-throws, planning where to release the ball. Being undecisive, he often took a while to make a move when playing sports.

"Come on, Marbles, we haven't got all night," Matty said, impatiently; gesturing with his hand to the pins. Just when Marbles finally threw the ball, he suddenly got distracted by the waitress who walked toward Matty and Taylor with their beer and pizza.

"Here's your order, boys," said the smiling waitress, a woman with blond hair and blue eyes, big red lips and round hips. Chris looked at her with obvious interest; Marbles doing the same as his ball rolled into the gutter, missing all the pins. Matty took the pizza box from her and placed it on the table then retrieved his beer from her hand and thanked her, a kind smile on his face. Once she left, Matty and Taylor opened their beers, clanked them and took a sip.

With the waitress gone, Marbles and Chris came to realize how badly Marbles had scored.

"Come on, you're doing worse than before!" Chris yelled, irritated. He got his beer off the table and opened it, taking a sip as Marbles reached down and opened the pizza box, taking a slice.

After they ate to their fill, the game resumed; Marbles went to go again, ending up with knocking over only 3 pins. Chris wrote his score down on the board and then stepped up to the lane; he wasn't great but he was better than Marbles and ended up knocking over 7 before his turn was over.

"We'd better watch out, Taylor, they're on a roll, here," Matty joked, causing Taylor to look at Matty and laugh. Chris and Marbles frowned as they looked over at Matty and Taylor. Matty slapped his hands together, laughing harder, thrilled with how upset his friends were - he found it comical.

"Alright, Taylor, you're up, my man," Matty said, looking at his friend. He watched with intensity as Taylor stepped up to the lane, grabbed a ball and threw it fast and hard, directly into the middle of the row of pins. He ended up knocking them all over in that single throw; his strength worked well for him.

"_Strike!"_ yelled Matty. He wrote it down and then gripped Taylor's shoulder, squeezing it as they passed each other. He laughed and looked at Chris and Marbles with a mischievous grin as he stepped up to the lane. Matty was just as good as Taylor and got them all down with one swing, much to Chris and Marbles' dismay.

"Why don't we just say you guys won and get it over with?" Marbles said, disappointed.

"And miss out on watchin' you lose? No way," Matty replied, a smile on his face as he walked back over to Taylor. Taylor smiled, amused, while Scarpa shook his head back and forth and Marbles glared.

"Come on, fellas, lighten up. You'll have your day..." Matty added, suddenly hesitating before he continued. "Well... maybe."

Half way through the game and Matty's beeper went off; that meant either his father or Teddy needed him to run an important errand.

"Hey, I gotta go," he said, putting his beeper back in his pocket. He raised his hand to Chris and Marbles, then shook Taylor's hand. "I'll see you tonight," he added, quietly, whispering to Taylor.

"Yeah," Taylor replied, smiling, shaking Matty's hand then releasing it and watching as the slender man walked away.

With Matty gone, they decided to replay, this time each on separate teams, split into three.

"At least you guys aren't a team, now," Marbles stated. "Now I actually got a chance to win, here."

Taylor and Scarpa looked at each other, Taylor raising a brow.

"I really doubt that, Johnny," said Chris, looking over at his cousin as Taylor laughed.

**_The End_**

* * *

_Author's Comments: We don't get to see much of the four just hanging out, worry-free, relaxing and having a good time. There are only about two scenes where we see what their relationships were like while they were in New York, without the 'lost bag of money in Montana' issue clouding over their heads. Both are deleted scenes; one being "No Problem On The Green" and the other being "The Ballers". I tried to give this story a "No Problem On The Green" vibe; I really enjoyed that deleted scene. Matty's teasing of Marbles has to be my favorite part of the whole thing. The bowling idea came from the end of that particular scene, where Matty goes to a bowling alley to retrieve money for his father. We find out that Matty has bowled there, before, and I can only imagine that he'd do it with his friends - nobody goes bowling alone, that's for sure._


End file.
